The date of a company’s financial year end can vary, but most commonly this date falls on either the 31st March or the 31st December. These times are always extremely busy for our financial translations team here at Axis Translations as we begin the translation of the annual reports of numerous international companies.
This challenge carries a great deal of responsibility, as an annual report is a legal requirement that provides crucial information about the performance and financial standing of the company. All the information must be kept confidential to avoid early release of information to stakeholders or even the press.
We can translate your annual report and the best translation of an annual report begins with a consultation: Contact our financial translation experts today so that we can discuss your requirements and advise you on the best process.
Why should an annual report be translated?
The world of business is now truly international and so a company may need to inform clients, shareholders, potential investors and banks in many languages. An annual report is a snapshot of the position of a company and so can be considered the most crucial document when seeking to learn more about a company. On this basis, the translation of the annual report becomes crucial for large international companies.
As example, listed companies in EU countries have long been of interest to people who do not understand the languages in each of those countries. This can be a barrier to mergers and acquisitions or for those companies to be approved by clients in other nations. A high-quality financial translation helps to better inform international clients, stakeholders and the media.
Key factors when translating an annual report - Preparation / Timing / Quality / Confidentiality
Preparation - The first phase of the translation process for an annual report should start before the financial report is ready for translation. This phase is preparation and it begins by reviewing the previous years annual report and any existing translations of older annual reports and other documents. This phase establishes the glossary of terminology and the language that can be expected so that we can ensure greater consistency of tone and terminology. Discussions will also be held to understand if there will be any shift in style with the upcoming report.
Timing – Translation deadlines will exist for annual reports and the Axis Translations team do respect deadlines. However, we also proactively save time in the preparation phase as questions maybe resolved before we have even received the document. An annual report might also include some documents that are available in advance (especially third-party documents) and we will seek to translate these while waiting for the final document. Good examples are the auditors report and the Financial Statements.
Quality – Quality begins with professional qualified translators and professionally qualified means holding recognised qualifications from recognised institutions (not an unknown online course). That translator must then be both experienced and specialised in financial translation. A translator cannot have enough experience in a specialist subject unless that is the type of translation that they focus their time on. At Axis Translations we separate our translators by speciality and they only translate into their native language.
Quality is then assured through preparation and planning of an assignment so that sufficient time is allowed to complete the task. This includes allowing time to check the translation.
The final quality option is proof-reading. This process involves a second financial translator independently auditing the translation against the source document word-by-word and editing as necessary. This is a highly involved process that requires approximately 40% of the time required to complete the translation.
Confidential Translations – Although an annual report will often become a public document, confidentiality is crucially important in the meantime.
The translation of your Annual Report begins with a discussion
We will start with a discussion so that we can understand all the key elements and seek to start the process of preparations as soon as possible.
What does the financial translation team of Axis Translations do to translate an annual report so perfectly? (in addition to the above)
In addition to all the measures stated above, we also apply the following:
Translation Memory – The preparations phase for a new client will create the glossary, but the translation memory stores all of a company’s translations for each language combination. Translated text is broken down into small units called ‘segments’ that generally correspond to one sentence. An approved translation is simultaneously saved into the translation memory so that if a new segment for translation is similar to an existing translation, that translation is automatically suggested to the translator. This allows the translator to use the approved segment as a template, and the customer’s corporate language remains consistent. We maintain a translation memory that is dedicated to each client.
The translation memory is particularly helpful when translating annual reports as it saves time while ensuring the preferred corporate language is maintained.
Terminology Glossaries – An annual report can change in style. As example, a new President of the company may seek to modernise his statement. In the face of change, a glossary of terminology ensures that terminology matches throughout the documents that make up the annual report. If the time comes to change terminology, it starts at the glossary. This glossary is crucially important for company-specific terminology.
Translators Only Translate – The number one cause of translation errors is distraction/interruption mistakes, but still so many translation companies have translators answering the phone and distracted by other tasks. At Axis Translations our translators are dedicated to translating as we have a separate team that deals with everything else.
Updates and revision requests – Changes are expected and we will quickly assist with updating the translations. We will also take note of any feedback and adjust glossaries and translation memory to meet any changes requested.
Only Human Translation – We do not use or offer machine translations, such as Google.
Right Tone of Voice – An accurate translation should maintain the tone of voice of the source text. Professional financial translators understand this.
Translate your annual report with Axis Translations. We look forward to discussing your requirements.